What’s healthier, an apple or a snickers bar?
What’s healthier, grilled chicken or fried chicken?
Should you eat vegetables and drink water?
I’ll bet you know the answers to these questions. They’re not hard, after all. Here’s the thing you might not know, however:
If you do know these answers you pretty much know what you need to know about the nutritional part of weight loss.
I’m not kidding. This is really pretty simple, for the most part. What makes that even better is that it should be! Think about it. The more complicated something is, the harder it is to maintain.
In 2014 a Journal of American Medicine study showed that it really doesn’t matter what kind of diet someone is on. Low fat, low carb, high fat, an even mix of everything. It doesn’t matter. The most important thing when it comes to weight loss is to find a diet that you can stick to.
Here’s the real not-so-secret secret. Weight loss usually doesn’t have all that much to do with the food, or at least it’s not the biggest issue that people face.
What I’ve found is that the biggest issues are the various things that get in the way of people doing what they know they should be doing in the first place.
That can be related to stress, schedule, habits, an unrealistic expectation of the process and many other things. As many things as there are people, really. Everyone is different.
If I’ve heard the phrase, “I know what to do I just have trouble doing it,” one time, I’ve heard it a million.
I think the main point of what I’m trying to say here is that the most important thing you can do to lose weight is spend some time trying to figure out the things that are getting in the way of you doing what you know to do.
This may sound simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, sometimes it can be very hard.
Here are a few quick things you can do to start yourself on that path.
Keep a food journal. An accurate journal forces you to really engage with what you’re doing. You can’t just slip that bag of chips in and then forget about it!
Slow down when you eat. This one can really be a game-changer. Did you know that your stomach can be full for 10-15 minutes before your brain realizes it. Think of how much food you can eat in 10-15 minutes!
There are obviously many more things you can do but these two things should give you a good start.
If you want a few more ideas I’m giving a talk at the Castro Valley Adult School this Thursday night, March 8th at 7pm. It’s called “5 Things You Should Know About Fat Loss, But Don’t.” You can call the school at 510-886-1000 to sign up.
Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Level 2 Lean Eating Coach, FMS Castro Valley Fitness 2861 Grove Way 510-754-7113 mitch@CastroValleyFitness.com
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